May I Have This Dance?
by Genocide Never Again
Summary: The Christmas Dance is coming up but Marui has two left feet! With the threat of a Santa girl outfit looming over his head, will Niou come to his rescue? HarMaru


A little Christmas fic to warm you along with your log fire this snowy Christmas. I hope you like it and happy holidays!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince Of Tennis.

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**_May I Have This Dance?_**

"Hey twinkle toes, puri." Niou greeted teasingly as Marui walked into the classroom. Marui blushed and glared at him. Yesterday their class had started Dance in P.E. and, due to apparently popular demand, they were learning to waltz and despite Marui's frequent proclamations that he was a tensai and knew everything and anything he didn't know he could pick up quickly, the waltz apparently wasn't 'anything'. In short, Marui had two left feet.

"Shut up!" The redhead snapped as he put his bag down on his desk and sat down with a small huff. Niou grinned.

"Puri." He said smugly before settling down as the teacher came in and lessons began.

_P.E. A Few Days Later_

A loud shriek ran across the gym as Marui unintentionally stepped on his partner's feet for the nth time. He quickly apologised as he quickly lifted his foot. He accidentally lost his balance in doing so and fell backwards, dragging his partner down with him. There was a shout of 'pervert' and the sound of a slap resounding throughout the gym as the girl who had fallen on top of Marui blushed and looked towards Niou. Marui groaned; it was just his luck that none of his fangirls were in his homeroom but it was full of Niou's fangirls instead.

A nearby couple helped the duo to their feet, Marui groaning quietly as he rubbed his sore head and bruising cheek. The teacher quickly came over and winced when she found a small bump on the back of Marui's head.

"Sit out for the rest of the lesson, you two. No point in risking anymore injuries." She said. The duo nodded and went to get changed, the girl glaring at Marui. They came back to watch the rest of the group as the lesson finished. "Okay, class, another two weeks and it will be the Christmas Snowball! Some of you are still a little rough around the edges but a couple more weeks of practice and you'll be doing perfect waltzes for the opening dance!"

"I didn't know that we were practicing for the Snowball." Marui groaned as he and Niou walked into a small coffee shop on the way home from school. They sat down at a table, Marui with a hot chocolate and Niou with a coffee. "I think I might just skip it…" Niou shook his head as he blew on his steaming drink.

"You can't. Yukimura said that if any of the team doesn't attend the dance then they have to wear a Santa girl outfit on the last day." He informed Marui just as the redhead took a sip of hot chocolate. Marui choked on his drink, tears coming to his eyes as hot chocolate went up his nose. "And before you think of going but not dancing, Yukimura said that you have to dance at least once or he'll go through with the threat." Marui wiped his nose with a serviette and Niou couldn't tell if he was crying in pain or in despair.

"I'm going to die. If not from embarrassment then from blood loss as my eardrums burst from girls shrieking as I step on their toes." Marui moaned. Niou, in a moment of pity, offered the violet-eyed boy a lifeline.

"Do you want me to teach you?" He offered. Marui looked up at him with sparkly, thankful eyes. "I'll take that as a yes. Come to my house after school tomorrow, puri." Marui nodded and smiled at him gratefully.

"Thank you 'Haru!"

_The Next Day_

Marui and Niou were in the Trickster's living room, both wearing their gym clothes and pushing the furniture aside to make some room. They met in the middle of the room and got into hold.

"We'll do it without music until you've got the steps down. I'll be the girl and you be a guy for once, puri." Marui resisted the urge to hit him, not wanting Niou to retract his offer. "Okay, 1 2 3…"

They were okay for a few steps but then Marui accidentally backed Niou into the sofa. The Trickster's legs buckled and they both fell on to the sofa. Marui apologised as they both sat up.

"Okay, problem number one: You're too short. You can't see over your partner's shoulder so you can't guide them properly." Niou said as they both stood up. "Let me go and get you some of my sister's high heels, then you'll be able to see." Marui nodded and they started again a few minutes later.

"Sorry 'Haru." Marui apologised yet again as they fell over for the fifth time in just over as many minutes. Niou groaned quietly as he sat up, keeping his eyes closed to hide his glare. Marui already sounded close to tears from frustration.

"Take the high heels off, I'll be the guy and you be the girl. Maybe if you learn the girls steps then we can just reverse them and you'll find it easier to do the proper steps." Niou suggested, adding under his breath, "Also, this way my legs don't become black with bruises."

"What was that, 'Haru?" Marui asked curiously. Niou just shook his head and they began again.

A fortnight passed and Marui didn't get any better at dancing. Niou had been right about the height issue but Marui was the shortest in the year so the issue wasn't easily resolved. Marui stuck to dancing the girls part since it meant less accidents but they very rarely got more than a minute into the dance before Marui did _something_ that would cause them to fall over.

It was the night of the dance and whilst Niou knew that Marui was there since they had come to the dance together (Marui had had a last minute lesson), he couldn't see the redhead anywhere. He walked up to Akaya, who was chatting to some girl, to see if the second year had any idea where the missing tensai was.

"Hey, brat, have you seen Marui?" He asked. Akaya looked up at him.

"I believe he went outside to curse at his phone." Akaya answered before turning back to the girl. Niou raised an eyebrow at the reply but went to check outside anyway. As he walked out the decorated gym and into the snow-covered outside world, Niou saw Marui standing a couple of metres in front of him, cursing at his mobile as he shivered.

"Marui, what are you doing?" Niou asked bluntly. Marui jumped slightly in surprise and turned to face his friend.

"Cursing my phone since it ran out of credit so I can't call my mum to come and pick me up. Every single girl in school has heard of my 'infamous feet' and they all refuse to dance with me, even the girl who usually hangs out in the library and who nobody talks to." Marui sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I figure that if I can't get a dance then there's no point in me being here since Yukimura's going to punish me either way and I didn't really want to come in the first place anyway." Niou looked thoughtful for a few moments before stepping forward and pulling Marui into hold.

"I wasn't able to get a dance partner either so let's dance together, puri." Niou said as he listened to the strains of music pouring from the gym, trying to get the beat. Marui looked up at him uncertainly.

"Are you sure? Ice is a lot less forgiving then carpet." He pointed out worriedly.

"Get on my feet then. That way we're both technically dancing and I don't have to worry about you slipping and making us both fall to the ground." The white-haired boy replied. Marui nodded, still slightly unsure, and carefully stepped on Niou's feet. When he was safely on and Niou had a secure hold round his waist, Niou moved his feet and they began to dance slowly.

The snow dampened the hems of their trousers as they waltzed round the outside of the gym but neither of them cared as they passed the one minute mark and then the two minute mark. They were just approaching three minutes when Marui suddenly sneezed. He let go off Niou's hand to cover his mouth and nose and the force of the sneeze knocked him off his already precarious balance. He fell backwards and Niou fell with him, his arm still looped round Marui's waist. They fell to the snowy ground, Marui on his back with his legs on either side of Niou whilst the Trickster in question knelt over him with his hands on either side of Marui's head. Marui looked down the space between them with a bright blush spread across his cheeks.

"Sorry 'Haru. We were finally getting the hang of it but I had to go and mess it up, didn't I? Typical." Marui rambled slightly. He stopped talking when Niou took hold of his chin and tilted his head up so that they were looking at each other. On impulse, Niou leaned down and captured Marui's lips in a gentle kiss. Marui's eyes widened in shock before he closed them and responded to the kiss. They pulled back after a while as the sound of wolf whistles and cheers reached their ears. They looked up and saw the rest of the team watching them, all of them grinning, even Sanada though his grin was very small.

"About time you two got together! You've been dancing round each other for months! Please excuse the pun." Yukimura added. "I was starting to think that my plan would never work."

"Plan? You mean you set this whole thing up?" Marui spluttered as he and Niou sat up.

"Well, yes and no. I didn't know that you were bad at dancing, Marui, but when I found out I made up that silly punishment game and asked all the girls to trip you up and refuse to dance with you so that Niou would teach you and dance with you here at the Snowball." The bluenette explained happily. Marui looked at him with righteous pouty fury.

"You told them to trip me up? Do you know how many bruises I got with Niou? He wasn't even trying to trip me so he could save his shins!" Marui yelled, crossing his arms with a huff. Yukimura just giggled and ushered the rest of the team back inside, music streaming out the slightly ajar doors. "Honestly, sometimes Yukimura is just so…" Marui made a small noise of frustration as Niou helped him to his feet. Niou took a step back and bowed slightly, offering his hand to Marui.

"May I have this dance, puri?" He asked. Marui looked at the proffered hand, his frustration melting away as he smiled softly and took the hand.

"Certainly."

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**A/N:** I love Christmas but I hate having tummy aches on it. Hugs to make me feel better? *puppy eyes*

Have a happy holiday! Bai bai!


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